In cinemas now, Vai tells the story of one woman’s life through eight ten-minute shorts, directed by nine Pacific women. At the Auckland premiere of Vai at Sylvia Park, dozens of attendees line up at the candy bar to buy a drink for the film. After paying, they then continued into the theatre where they discovered … Read more
There’s been a decades-long campaign to get a quota of New Zealand music on radio, but radio is no longer where a lot of us hear new music. Gareth Shute investigates whether the same pressure should be applied to streaming playlists. In 1989, the music played by New Zealand radio stations included less than 2% … Read more
It’s half Stars in Their Eyes and half the monsters from Labyrinth, and it might be the most bizarre reality TV show ever – and we need it here. Have you ever felt empty inside? Like there’s a chasm in your chest so big tourists would take photos of it? A hole that is often filled but never … Read more
New poetry by Wellington writer Carolyn DeCarlo. The Ultimate Freedom of Space and Time Sometimes when masturbating I think about my friends’ perfect bodies having sex with angels. Or, angelic sex with each other. Or, dirty sex where my friends are covered in mud and having sex with earthworms. Having sex in pools of blood … Read more
Duncan Garner has described the Canterbury Crusaders’ name change as ‘white man’s guilt’, but Catherine Delahunty argues that guilt and discomfort are a necessary part of moving forward as a more inclusive society. The Christchurch attack has highlighted how a racist society operates when challenged by white supremacist terrorism. The strong thread of decency and … Read more
CEO Mark Zuckerberg was silent for weeks following the attacks, yet the world has refused to let this story go. Here is a summary of three extraordinary weeks for Facebook. It’s now three weeks since Christchurch, and those directly impacted are preparing to face the accused in court this morning, still incredibly raw. Haji Daoud … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Christchurch mosque attack accused to appear in court, threats made against Muslim prayer for ANZAC service, and tense hearings on gun law reforms. The police have confirmed they will be charging the man accused of carrying out the Christchurch mosque attack over every single person killed. The NZ … Read more
With the possible exception of Phil Twyford, no minister has generated more headlines over the current government’s term than Shane Jones. And a lot of them aren’t good headlines at all. So how does he keep surviving? The charmed career of Shane Jones continued on breezily this week. Despite opening up yet another target around … Read more
Different scams are dealt with by different agencies, leaving many consumers confused as to where to go. The Commission for Financial Capability’s Bronwyn Groot says it’s time to centralise how we report scams in New Zealand. News this week that the money lost through online scams had ballooned to $33 million in 2018 – triple … Read more
In February, Auckland bus, train and ferry fares went up. Again. We say we want a world-class transport system, writes Auckland Councillor Richard Hills – so why do we keep hitting users in the pocket? I want to freeze public transport fares. I am not alone in this. There are many voices around the council … Read more
We finally reach the last summer phase ‘Matiti Rauangina’, when the Paengawhāwhā constellation appears in the sky and the leaves fall from the tress. Learn more about the maramataka, the Māori lunar calendar, here. Nau mai ki te marama a Paengawhāwhā. April/Paengawhāwhā is here and we look forward to a productive cycle ahead. Add the dates below … Read more
A review of the school system has recommended sweeping changes, most controversially the implementation of a new organisation structure based around centralised Education Hubs. Auckland Grammar principal Tim O’Connor thinks that’s a terrible idea. The government is considering radical changes to New Zealand’s community-led state-school system. Claire Amos, principal of Albany Senior High School, yesterday … Read more
Another delicious reason to get hold of some sourdough starter ASAP. Sourdough crumpets are wonderful for when you have excess starter you need to use up, or if the bread-making boat has sailed for the day but you’re in need of something bread-like! I often make these in the morning before school for the kids … Read more
Sam Brooke is a Ph.D student at Massey, who is working with the MacDiarmid Institute. He talked to Alex Braae about his research, why it matters, and how it became possible to do it in New Zealand. To be on the leading edge of science, young New Zealand students would have once had to go … Read more
The Real Pod assembles to dissect Married at First Sight Australia and the Dancing With the Stars NZ cast, with special thanks to Nando’s. We know we’ve said this before, but this episode is a proper chaos pod. Fuelled by lollies and the promise of Nando’s, your friendly podmates plough through the final single dates on … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Shareholders approve of sale of TradeMe to private equity firm, family ties between Shane Jones and logging boss, and Newsroom journalists detained in Fiji. TradeMe shareholders have given overwhelming backing to a takeover offer from a British private equity firm called Apax Partners, reports Business Desk. It’s the … Read more
Anointed by Forbes magazine as one of Asia Pacific’s rising entrepreneurial stars, Ben Forman has a vision for building an honourable advertising industry in his home town. This week Wellington adman Ben Forman was one of six New Zealanders to be named in Forbes Asia’s latest ‘30 Under 30’ list of the region’s hottest young entrepreneurs. Some … Read more
New Zealand’s insistence on changing its clocks twice a year doesn’t make sense, and it needs to stop, argues Hayden Donnell. This Sunday morning, New Zealanders will dutifully carry out a great collective act of self-destruction. As is tradition, we will ensure every clock in the country goes back an hour at 2am, from our … Read more
It’s that time of year again when we push celebrities onstage and make them dance for charity and also our amusement. Armed only with a limited knowledge of sportspeople and breakfast radio, Sam Brooks power-ranks the celebs lining up to compete in Dancing with the Stars. It is with the heaviest, arterially-clogged heart that I … Read more
Might PM Jacinda Ardern’s visit to Beijing have meant more to China than we in New Zealand realise? Former Washington Post Beijing bureau chief John Pomfret, who is currently visiting New Zealand, thinks we have misunderstood the importance of the trip. The recent tensions between China and New Zealand were almost always framed in terms … Read more
‘There’s something incredible about watching otherwise ordinary people do something extraordinary.’ A recent NZSO performance prompts Anna Knox to reflect on what makes live classical music so special. I always forget, beforehand, that live orchestral performance is one of most wonderful things a human being can experience, and then, the moment the first note is … Read more
Auckland Zoo is no longer about humans on the outside looking in at the animals. Now, it’s all about being part of the landscape together. Monica Lake has handed me a high vis vest and a hard hat (my preferred outfit any given day) and is showing me around a large construction site: mounds of … Read more
The independent taskforce report on Tomorrow’s Schools recommends big changes to school governance, and a lot of principals are up in arms. Auckland high school principal Claire Amos explains why she’s not one of them. As the sun set on the school year at the end of 2018, the Tomorrow’s Schools Independent Taskforce published their … Read more
On Friday March 29, the Spinoff published a ranking of every chip flavour in New Zealand. Everyone promptly lost the plot. Chip ranker Madeleine Chapman wonders where she went wrong. I didn’t have anything else to write about. That’s why I ranked all 123 chip flavours in New Zealand from best to worst. Not because … Read more
A real-life mother-daughter twisted true crime story makes it way to Lightbox tomorrow in The Act. Jean Sergent reviews the television event of the season. As a connoisseur of true crime, there is no telly event I’ve been more excited for this year quite like The Act. Chronicling the horrific crimes of Dee Dee Blanchard and … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Landfills in focus after pair of disasters, new firearms laws to be streamlined through Parliament, and generational conflict over climate change in Thames. A pair of recent stories have shown that what gets put in landfills doesn’t ever really go away. Over and above the widely-covered crisis in recycling, … Read more
Since writing about adults with fetishes exploiting children on YouTube, David Farrier has become familiar with the reality for kids on the wild west of YouTube. He explores the troubling subculture of videos targeting children created by adult hypnotists. “Um… goodbye YouTube. I’m serious. I have to delete my channel because of perverts,” says James … Read more
With every new FromSoftware game comes the same debate – how hard is too hard, and why does it matter? Matthew Codd examines this age-old argument and its bogus foundations. Any new release by FromSoftware – famed creators of Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and now Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice – is inevitably followed with a refreshed … Read more
Extract: In a new book about censored letters in New Zealand, the author tells the strange story of a German woman who dressed as a man and may have established a “lesbian network”. Letter from Katherine Early to Hjelmar Dannevill, November 1915 I don’t know whether it will be possible to see you again, I … Read more